It’s a big decision when you want to take up lessons in a musical instrument – you’ll have to figure out exactly how you want to approach your learning, because there are certainly lots of choices to make in this regard nowadays. There are lots of free materials online which you can use to study quite well for a long time – especially if you’re just looking to have some fun and mess around. However, if you really want to get good – and get there fast – you’ll want to work with a teacher who knows their material well. This will give you an incredible boost to your learning speed, as a good guitar teacher can show you exactly what you’re doing wrong and how you can improve your technique as fast as possible.

Choosing a good teacher can be difficult though – there are lots of them nowadays, especially if you live somewhere big. There are a few rules of thumb you can follow to ensure that you find someone good enough.

Group or solo?

Sometimes working with a group of students can be a bit demoralizing if you see the others doing better than you – but it can also be very helpful for picking up various tips from others. Personal lessons usually work faster than anything, and if you really want to improve your technique, that’s where you’ll want to go.

Group guitar lessons

Personal appeal

This may not seem very important right now, but it’s actually a crucial factor that many underestimate – you must get along with your potential teacher well enough, and find them likeable. This will have a huge impact on your learning progress, so make sure you find a teacher who you get along with properly.

Matching styles

Everyone’s taste in music is different – and it’s not rare that you may get into an argument with your guitar teacher about that. Most good guitar teachers can work with any style in their teaching, but the more you have in common in this regard, the more motivated you’ll be to learn what they’re teaching you.

Are you ready to work hard?

You must be honest with yourself about this – are you willing to put in a lot of effort into your playing and learn fast? How many hours a week do you plan on playing? This can have a huge impact on the decision for a teacher that you make in the end, because you’ll want to hire someone who can cope with your own way of doing things. Hiring one of the best and most expensive teachers in your area will be a waste of your money – and their time – if you don’t take your classes with them seriously, so ensure that you’re actually serious about this before you decide which teacher you’re going to hire, and ask yourself honestly how strongly you want to learn. You’ll only regret it later if you overestimate yourself here, so make sure you don’t go down that path.